Chapter 50: Life and Death Together He tightened his grip and buried his head in her...

"...I had already arranged a show for the Jinyiwei, but who would have thought Mao Zhang would..." Ah Qiao sighed. She hadn't expected Mao Zhang to do this.

A Qiao and Jiang Tong sat opposite each other. Her gaze passed over Jiang Tong's shoulder and fell on a certain empty point behind her.

Mao Zhang's face seemed to appear in front of her again. Mao Zhang knew that he did not have that ability, so he handed everything he had to her and asked her to swear that even if it meant giving up her own life, she would try to return the throne to the lineage of Emperor Jingtai.

"...However, with Mao Zhang's death, all the clues from the Jinyiwei were cut off, and I am safe here." Aqiao said.

The two looked at each other, and sighed endlessly for a moment.

A Qiao said, "I have already gathered all of Mao Zhang's assassins. Although they are few in number, they are enough to break into the prison."

Jiang Tong shook his head. "Wouldn't a prison break just confirm my father's guilt? And what about after he's rescued? Will he spend the rest of his life in hiding?"

The two looked at each other and understood what each other was thinking.

A Qiao's expression was a little serious: "Have you thought about it?"

Jiang Tong nodded solemnly, his eyes revealing determination. "I've already sent Guan Qing away. I just received a letter from my aunt, saying she's coming to visit my home. When she arrives, I'll have her take my mother away as well. That way, I won't have to worry about anything."

When she said this, her eyes softened as she looked at A'qiao. "But you, A'qiao, you can be the supreme master of the martial arts world like in your previous life. You don't have to do such head-breaking things."

A Qiaodan raised his phoenix eye and put on a faint, somewhat arrogant smile: "Do you think that what I did in my previous life was not a life-threatening thing?"

She stood up, walked to the window and looked at the snow all over the sky.

"I've already sat on the throne of the supreme martial artist once. There's no point in doing it again. I want to experience what it's like to sit on the throne of a temple in this lifetime."

…

The snow was still falling, and the sky and the earth seemed to be covered with white snow. A carriage was heading south against the wind and snow.

Suddenly, something rolled off the carriage and fell into the snow. Soon, the thing struggled and it turned out to be Su Guanqing who had jumped out of the carriage by force!

He climbed out of the snow pile with difficulty. The bamboo stick had long disappeared. He ran in one direction, staggering, relying on his feeling.

"Whoa!" The carriage also stopped quickly.

Feng Fuliu jumped down from the shaft of the cart and almost laughed out of anger: "You're running in the wrong direction! That's not the direction back to the capital!"

Su Guanqing refused to listen and just ran forward recklessly.

However, the snow was already up to his calf height, and every step he took was extremely difficult. He was soon caught up by Feng Fuliu.

"Do you want to freeze to death? Come back to the carriage with me!" Feng Fuliu said as he pulled Su Guanqing.

"Fu Liu! I considered you my good friend, how could you treat me like this!" Su Guanqing roared.

"It was your Tongtong who made me do this!"

"What did you say?" Su Guanqing was stunned.

"She gave me a big bag of money yesterday and asked me to take you as far as possible. What do you think all those things in the carriage are? They're all the luggage she prepared for you!"

Seeing Su Guanqing's face turn pale, Feng Fuliu said unhappily, "I don't know what you're doing. You're just annoying me."

Su Guanqing didn't hear what Feng Fuliu said later. He had only one thought in his mind - Tongtong was really going to rebel!

He suddenly grabbed Feng Fuliu's arm and said hurriedly, "No, Fuliu, we have to go back!"

"What are you going back for? I don't know how Mr. Jiang's case is going to turn out. If things go wrong, his family will be implicated. Do you want to try going to jail again?" Feng Fuliu pushed him away.

Su Guanqing said without a second thought: "Even if I die, I want to die with Tongtong!"

Just as he finished speaking, he felt a pain on his forehead as a ball of snow hit him on the head.

"Su Guanqing, you are not in your right mind. You have finally managed to survive from the mud, but now you are jumping into the fire pit!"

"But if something happens to Tongtong..."

"Tongtong! Tongtong! You only care about Tongtong! Can you please love yourself a little more!"

Su Guanqing suddenly smiled and said, "My life is worthless, so why should I care about death? If I can repay my confidant with my death, it would not be a bad thing."

Feng Fuliu thought he was being foolish. "If you want to go back, go back by yourself. I, Grandpa, have finally gained my freedom. I don't want to go back and be a servant!"

Su Guanqing really struggled and moved forward.

Feng Fuliu was so angry that he screamed, "Think carefully! I won't give you that big bag of silver. If I used it alone, it would be enough to provide me with food and clothing for the rest of my life. I won't give you a carriage either! You can just walk back!"

Su Guanqing turned around and smiled at him: "Fu Liu, thank you for taking care of me these days. Go away, go far away, and start your life again."

Feng Fuliu was furious: "Su Guanqing, you really are a fool!"

…

In the warm house of the Jiang family, Jiang Tong was discussing the specific steps with A Qiao.

"Our first step is to get the royal family to acknowledge that the child is the descendant of Emperor Jingtai." A Qiao said.

Although Jiang Tong had lived two lives, he had no experience in this area. He asked, "Whose say is final?"

"The Empress Dowager might be able to do that. But Emperor Jingtai's mother has been demoted to Consort Xian. The current Empress Dowager is the biological mother of Emperor Zhengtong. The Wu family obviously can't be relied upon."

A Qiao shook his head and changed his direction: "If there is help from the government and the people, that's also a solution."

Hearing her say this, Jiang Tong suddenly thought of Ye Sheng, and told her everything that had happened before -

"...Although this person didn't say it explicitly, Guan Qing and I speculate that he might be on Emperor Jingtai's side."

"Ye Sheng?" A Qiao remembered the name in his mind. "I'll try to test his attitude."

"After all, it's a matter of rebellion. Even if he really sympathizes with Emperor Jingtai, he may not be willing to risk his life and property on this matter." Jiang Tong was a little worried.

Ah Qiao smiled calmly, "We wanderers are the best at dragging people into trouble. If he's not interested, fine. But if he is, I will definitely pull him over to our side. But having important officials alone isn't enough. We also need someone from the royal family, not just a minor branch. He has to have a say in this matter..."

Jiang Tong thought of someone and asked, "What do you think of King Xiang?"

Prince Xiang Zhu Zhanji is over 50 years old this year. He is the fifth son of Ming Renzong Zhu Gaochi and has the same mother as his father, Emperor Zhengtong.

After the Battle of Tumu, because of his high seniority and good bloodline, the court wanted to welcome him to be the emperor, but he refused.

After the Zhengtong Emperor was restored to the throne, he treated his uncle with great courtesy and even sent him to offer sacrifices to the ancestral temple on behalf of the emperor. His status was above all other princes.

If such a person is willing to endorse the orphan of Emperor Jingtai, then this matter would be somewhat plausible.

A'Qiao's eyes lit up: "Can you get in touch with Prince Xiang?"

Jiang Tong thought of Zhao Ji's words, and the corners of his lips curled up slightly: "I'll give it a try."

The two of them planned it carefully again, and by the time Jiang Tong came out of Aqiao's house, it was already dark.

She stopped under the eaves and looked up. The snow had stopped and the sky was pitch black. She could not see anything.

The dark sky seemed to be pressing down on her heart, making it difficult for her to even breathe.

The entire front yard was plunged into darkness. Only the study to her left was lit, where Zhao Quesheng was still doing his exercises. A candle was also lit in Aqiao's room to her right.

Normally, she should have checked Zhao Quesheng's homework and sent the child to bed, but she didn't want to move at all.

She stood quietly under the eaves, with her family, friends and students around her, but she felt a loneliness she had never felt since her rebirth.

They had big plans today, but Jiang Tong didn't have the confidence and hope in her heart, only the confusion of an uncertain future.

Although the snow has stopped, the nights have become even colder.

Jiang Tong crossed her arms and hugged herself tightly, but no matter how she hugged, she couldn't feel warm.

It's only been one day, and she's already beginning to miss that warm embrace.

She calculated the distance and realized that it had been a day. Guan Qing should have left Zhili.

If things go well, I will definitely go and find him, if not...

I'm afraid this will be our last farewell in this life.

Jiang Tong closed his eyes and murmured, "Guan Qing, Guan Qing..."

At this moment, footsteps were heard behind her, mixed with the sound of a bamboo stick tapping the ground.

Jiang Tong was startled and turned around suddenly.

Su Guanqing was lighting a bamboo stick and running towards her quickly.

Feng Fuliu couldn't outrun him and could only follow closely behind him.

"Guan Qing?" Jiang Tong blurted out with a trembling voice that he himself did not even notice.

Su Guanqing stopped abruptly: "Tongtong?!"

Feng Fuliu wanted to explain to Jiang Tong, but he saw that the two of them were only focused on each other and obviously didn't care about anything else. He felt that there was nothing to say and turned back to his room.

Jiang Tong didn't say anything. She couldn't help but look at Su Guanqing in the dim light coming through the room. He looked very miserable. There was no telling how many times he had rolled in the snow. His clothes were wet and dry, wrinkled and dirty.

Su Guanqing didn't say anything either.

What can he say?

Should he question Jiang Tong about sending him away? Or should he humble himself and beg Jiang Tong to let him stay with her?

Was he unworthy of dying with her, or did she think he was just a coward?

Grievances and anger surged in his chest, causing it to heave violently.

After a while, Su Guanqing finally calmed down a little. He planned to have a good talk with her about this matter. At least he had to use reason to convince her to let him stay with her.

"Tong..." He cleared his throat and spoke seriously, but as soon as he said a word, Jiang Tong threw herself into his arms.

Su Guanqing's voice stopped abruptly.

"I'm so cold."

Her low, vague voice came from her arms.

In an instant, Su Guanqing forgot everything he was going to say and hurriedly raised his hands to hug her.

He tightened his grip and buried his head in the crook of her neck. He didn't know how long he held her. Then he remembered something and said in a voice only she could hear, "Tongtong, don't chase me away, okay?"

"good."

When Zhao Quesheng came out of the study, he was surprised to see someone in the corridor. He was so scared that he almost screamed. He covered his mouth tightly to prevent himself from shouting.

With the help of the light behind her, she could clearly see who was hugging each other tightly in front of her. She didn't dare to say a word. She went back to blow out the candle, tiptoed away quietly.